Looking back at the 2024 Futures Conference in Turku
On June 13 and 14, 2024, the 24th Futures Conference took place in Turku, Finland. Every year, this international event brings together experts from around the world to discuss future developments and challenges. This year’s conference was held under the motto “Futures of Natural Resources” and explored ways in which we can use natural resources more sustainably.
What is the Futures Conference?
The Futures Conference in Turku is an annual event that brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers and other interested people from more than 50 countries to discuss current and future challenges. This year’s conference was held under the motto “Futures of Natural Resources,” focusing on sustainable resource use, the transformation of food systems and the protection of biodiversity.
Each year, the conference changes its focus topic to shed light on a wide range of aspects of futures studies. In 2023, the focus was on “Empowering Futures – Longterm Governance, Democracy and Futures Research,” which addressed the challenges of long-term governance and the role of democracy and research. 2022 was all about “Planetary Futures of Health and Wellbeing,” while in 2021 the future of learning took center stage under the title “Learning Futures – Futures of Learning.” With each conference, the discourse broadens and new impulses for shaping our future emerge.
Why were we there?
For Schaltzeit, taking part in the conference was a great opportunity to engage actively with the topic of sustainability. Our CEO, André Winzer, led a workshop on using virtual personas in innovation processes. The idea behind it: virtual personas can help integrate sustainability aspects into the evaluation of innovation ideas at an early stage. The participants were enthusiastic and contributed many exciting and creative approaches.
Our impressions and experiences
The 2024 Futures Conference offered an extraordinary platform that went far beyond professional exchange. The open and friendly atmosphere in Turku made for inspiring encounters with international participants from a wide range of disciplines. The diversity of backgrounds and perspectives showed how valuable intercultural exchange is for futures studies.
A special highlight for us was André’s workshop, which used the Lego Serious Play method. Lego Serious Play is a facilitated method that brings creative play and building with Lego bricks into a business context. The workshop focused on innovative approaches to integrating sustainability criteria into innovation processes. With the help of LEGO models, participants were able to visualize their ideas and give them tangible form. Despite some initial challenges, it became clear how playful methods can encourage creative engagement with complex future topics. The lively exchange confirmed for us that sustainable decision-making criteria are becoming increasingly important.
Besides the intense professional discussions, the conference also offered a chance to get to know Turku and its special atmosphere. The city itself, with its mix of modernity and nature, contributes to an inspiring overall experience that will stay with us for a long time. The many experiences on site have broadened our perspectives and given us new impulses for further developing our own work at Schaltzeit.
Conclusion
Taking part in the 2024 Futures Conference in Turku showed us once again how valuable interdisciplinary and international exchange is for futures studies. The opportunity to discover new perspectives, discuss innovative approaches and work on solutions together inspired and motivated us.
For Schaltzeit, the conference was not only a networking platform but also an opportunity to develop our own methods further and gather valuable impulses for future projects. We look forward to bringing what we learned into our work and doing our part for a more sustainable future.
In this LinkedIn post, André Winzer shares some of his impressions and photos. He was delighted by the people he met and felt warmly welcomed. For him, it was like being part of a wellbeing economy in which quality of life, rather than GDP, takes center stage.
